Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Rebutting Harrub: Argument from Historical Scientists

This is the second in C0nc0rdance's series on Dr. Brad Harrub's "Origins" talk in College Station, TX around August 9th, 2012.

In the section, C0nc0rdance address his argument from historical scientists. The key point: Many scientists throughout history have been religious, but it was not their religious beliefs that informed their science. The fact that Brad Harrub focuses on scientists who lived prior to Charles Darwin says a lot.

C0nc0rdance thought it might be interesting to explore the actual religious beliefs of the people being summoned to testify on Brad Harrub's behalf. Most of them were unorthodox by today's standards, and some of them can better testify to the negative; that religious or superstitious belief has hindered science and the progress of knowledge.

The context of the clip from Brad Harrub's talk is that he was addressing Bill Nye's comments that creationism can hold students back from understanding the actual science. This is true. When a person has a commitment to dogmatic doctrine that conflicts with truth or evidence, they face a difficult choice: either reject the truth, or reject the doctrine.

c0nc0rdance's wager:
Whenever a supernatural explanation competes with a natural explanation, so far in the history of science, the natural has always held up to more scrutiny.